Moritz takes oath, joins 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals

Nancy Moritz was sworn in Wednesday as a judge for the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Kansas jurist Nancy Moritz became a judge in the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday when she took the oath of office in Topeka.

The oath was administered in a courtroom at the Frank Carlson Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse, 444 S.E. Quincy, by U.S. District Judge Eric Melgren, the Denver-based court announced.

The six-state appeals court now has its full complement of 12 full-time judges. Moritz fills the vacancy created when Judge Deanell Tacha, of Lawrence, resigned in 2011 to become dean of the law school at Pepperdine University.

Moritz will have her chambers initially in Lawrence and her permanent chambers will be in Manhattan after space for them is acquired by the court, said Dave Tighe, the circuit executive. The court’s chief judge, Mary Beck Briscoe, has her chambers in Lawrence.

Moritz most recently served on the Kansas Supreme Court, beginning in 2011. She grew up in Tipton and graduated from Washburn University Law School in 1985.

The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals hears federal appeals from Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma, Wyoming, New Mexico and Utah.

President Barack Obama nominated Moritz in August 2013. The Senate confirmed the nomination May 5.